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Keith Lee did it! The Limitless One has defeated Adam Cole in the Winner Takes All match at NXT Great American Bash and is now the new NXT Champion. With this massive victory, he ended the 400+ day reign of Cole as the NXT Champion and is now the first Superstar to hold both the NXT title and the North American Championship at the same time.
This was a huge moment for Keith Lee who has been impressing everyone for over a year, before finally getting his hands on the biggest prize on the Black and Gold brand. One has to surely wonder what does it mean for the future of Adam Cole and the Undisputed Era on NXT - more on that later.
With the spoilers of the title change leaking out last week, there were discussions of whether NXT will reshoot the ending and let Adam Cole retain, but none of that happened as Keith Lee emerged victorious to end night two of NXT's Great American Bash.
Let's take a look at five reasons why Keith Lee became the Double Champion by defeating Adam Cole. Sound off your reactions to this massive title change in the comments section below.
#5 Keith Lee was a great choice to end Adam Cole's historic NXT Champion reign
Adam Cole might just be the greatest NXT champion in the brand's history, thanks to his 400+ day reign (the longest in NXT history). Several top Superstars including the likes of the Velveteen Dream, Johnny Gargano, Tommaso Ciampa challenged him for his title and ended up failing to dethrone him.
It was the Limitless One, Keith Lee, who finally defeated him for the NXT Championship tonight at The Great American Bash and it's safe to say that he was a great choice, if not the best, to end Cole's historic title reign.
Keith Lee's rise to the top of the NXT division has been a very interesting one but he has just been unstoppable in the last 12 months or so, with several impressive performances on NXT as well as on the main roster (remember, the 2019 Survivor Series match?)
It was probably time for Keith Lee to get his hands on the NXT Championship, something he completely deserves. He also needed this victory much more than Adam Cole, who probably doesn't have anything more to achieve on the Black and Gold brand.
#4 Adam Cole probably done with NXT and moving to the main roster soon
Adam Cole (Bay Bay) made his NXT debut in August 2017 by attacking the then newly-crowned NXT Champion Drew McIntyre at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn III. After almost three years since his NXT debut, Adam Cole has become one of the most decorated and successful Superstars in the history of the brand.
He has won every major title on the brand, becoming NXT's second Triple Crown Champion after Johnny Gargano. It won't be wrong to say that he, along with The Undisputed Era, has ruled over the roster of NXT for the last couple of years and it's probably time for a change. WWE Universe has been speculating the main roster move for Adam Cole and The Undisputed Era for a long time and losing the title to Keith Lee could just be the beginning of that.
While some of the recent NXT call-ups haven't had a great time on RAW and SmackDown, the kind of charisma and popularity Adam Cole possesses will make sure he stays on the top. I certainly see him as a future WWE Champion, do you?
#3 Makes for an interesting change in the NXT title picture
As previously mentioned, Adam Cole was the NXT Champion for over 400 days before Keith Lee dethroned him tonight at NXT Great American Bash to become a double champ. With Lee being a top babyface, the NXT title picture will now be completely different as heels will now be chasing him, as opposed to the situation with Cole.
There are several heels on the roster who could have amazing rivalries with Keith Lee for the NXT Championship. The name of Karrion Kross stands out for sure as he has been booked as an unstoppable monster during his very short NXT career so far.
During the ending moments of tonight's NXT episode, we saw Kross and Scarlett watch Keith Lee celebrating in the ring in what looked to be a tease of the fact that we might see a Keith Lee vs Karrion Kross feud very soon. That should be amazing!
#2 NXT's senior producer Triple H is high on Keith Lee
Triple H is considered by many to be the godfather of NXT and has immense respect in the eyes of every Superstar, who consider him to be their mentor. It has been a trend for NXT Superstars to click a picture with the Game backstage after winning a title, something which shows how much attached the Hall of Famer is to the brand.
During a recent interview with Metro, Triple H was all praise for Keith Lee, even touting him as a future world champion.
"He’s just the kind of guy that you wanna work hard for, and you wanna deliver for him. ‘Man, I love working with him. You say “Keith Lee, world champion” – and you ask me what my opinion is? I say “Hell yeah!”
"Look, it certainly wouldn’t shock me, right? Keith has every tool"
Triple H even called him a locker room leader, revealing how comfortable he has become in the world of pro wrestling.
"It’s funny, when talent sometimes comes in here, you’re doing the same things in how you work with them but they have a preconceived notion of what they think you’re looking for and how you’re looking for it. So they change what they do to try to deliver some preconceived notion of what they think that you want – but it’s really not what you’re looking for. Sometimes it’s a while. Man, now that Keith is comfortable here, he’s just… such a great guy. Hard working, humble, just wants to deliver. Great human being, locker room leader. Everything that you could want – an ultimate pro."
With Triple H being so high on him, it was only time before Keith Lee got his hands on the NXT Championship. The Game would surely be proud to have him lead NXT to glory.
#1 The beginning of the Era of Keith Lee as NXT's double champion
While we have been focusing on the massive news of Keith Lee becoming the new NXT Champion, let's not forget that he is now the first Superstar to hold both the NXT title and North American Championship at the same time. In the last 12 months, we have seen the massive success of Becky 2 Belts and now Bayley Dos Straps on the main roster, and now it is the beginning of the era of Keith Lee as NXT's double champion!
There's so much potential with a top babyface like Keith Lee holding two titles, one of the best being the possibility of a weekly open challenge for the NXT North American Championship, which could surely make for some entertaining matches - not to forget, raising the prestige of NXT's secondary singles championship. This would ensure that the title doesn't get overlooked with Lee being the NXT Champion as well.
It would be interesting to see how long NXT keeps the two titles on him. But as of now, let's all "Bask in his glory!" and congratulate the new NXT Double Champion, Keith Lee!
